Lock harts Lament Paper
Vocabulary
1)
A)Lament- An expression of grief or sorrow
B)Antithesis- Contrast or opposition
C)Obfuscatory- To confuse, bewilder, or stupefy
D)Pedantry-Slavish attention to rules, details
E)Epiphany-an appearance or manifestation, especially of a deity.
F)Rigor- A severe or harsh act, circumstance, ect
G)Bouillabaisse-a soup or stew containing several kinds of fish and often shellfish, usually combined with olive oil,tomatoes, and saffron.
2) According to lockhart a mathematician is, “like a painter or poet, is a maker of patterns. If his patterns are more permanent than theirs, it is because they are made with ideas” ~In other words they do math because it is interesting to them and not just needed!
3)Math teachers in most cases reduce math to an “empty shell” lockhart says. That is why most students say math is “boring” and not interesting because teachers forget what mathematics actually is! To lockhart mathematics is the use of imagination. Letting students derive their own problems, gather their own information and proofs. STOP giving them facts let them DISCOVER the facts for themselves. mathematics is an art, “The art of explanation”, math teachers aren’t treating it as such and students are noticing that. Math is not about following directions, it’s about making new directions. Lockhart says, “
The main problem with school mathematics is that there are no problems. Oh, I know what passes for problems in math classes, these insipid “exercises.” “Here is a type of problem. Here is how to solve it. Yes it will be on the test. Do exercises 1-35 odd for homework.” What a sad way to learn mathematics: to be a trained chimpanzee.”
4) The self perpetuation monster in lockhart's lament is that ,“students learn about math from their teachers, and teachers learn about it from their teachers, so this lack of understanding and appreciation for mathematics in our culture replicates itself indefinitely” (Quoted from Lockharts
1)
A)Lament- An expression of grief or sorrow
B)Antithesis- Contrast or opposition
C)Obfuscatory- To confuse, bewilder, or stupefy
D)Pedantry-Slavish attention to rules, details
E)Epiphany-an appearance or manifestation, especially of a deity.
F)Rigor- A severe or harsh act, circumstance, ect
G)Bouillabaisse-a soup or stew containing several kinds of fish and often shellfish, usually combined with olive oil,tomatoes, and saffron.
2) According to lockhart a mathematician is, “like a painter or poet, is a maker of patterns. If his patterns are more permanent than theirs, it is because they are made with ideas” ~In other words they do math because it is interesting to them and not just needed!
3)Math teachers in most cases reduce math to an “empty shell” lockhart says. That is why most students say math is “boring” and not interesting because teachers forget what mathematics actually is! To lockhart mathematics is the use of imagination. Letting students derive their own problems, gather their own information and proofs. STOP giving them facts let them DISCOVER the facts for themselves. mathematics is an art, “The art of explanation”, math teachers aren’t treating it as such and students are noticing that. Math is not about following directions, it’s about making new directions. Lockhart says, “
The main problem with school mathematics is that there are no problems. Oh, I know what passes for problems in math classes, these insipid “exercises.” “Here is a type of problem. Here is how to solve it. Yes it will be on the test. Do exercises 1-35 odd for homework.” What a sad way to learn mathematics: to be a trained chimpanzee.”
4) The self perpetuation monster in lockhart's lament is that ,“students learn about math from their teachers, and teachers learn about it from their teachers, so this lack of understanding and appreciation for mathematics in our culture replicates itself indefinitely” (Quoted from Lockharts